I asked a man out…

And he said a NO!

Yes, you heard it right. And the best part of it is that I don’t feel ashamed or embarrassed of doing so. You must be shocked, A girl(Indian) born in a family with strong traditional values dare not talk to a guy about romantic affairs. But, I did it!

Liking a man, ain’t a crime! But asking him out and proposing him out loud becomes a heinous crime where in the guy himself looks down at you. This is the type of society we live in.

There is this guy, the one I like. I mustered up my courage and told him what I feel about him but to my surprise he blocked all my means of contact with him. Every time I looked in his eyes, they were cold with no tinge of warmth from before. And when I asked him he coldly said, you are bold and my family would not like it. It was appalling to me because, he once said he liked me as I was different from others BOLD, CONFIDENT, STRONG girl. And the equation changes and I am not fit for his family.

When I told my friend about this she said, “I would never dishonor myself by asking a man out”. I wasn’t offended. If anything, I wanted to laugh and tell her what she was missing. She didn’t quite understand when I told her that it was a tremendous ego boost, a huge empowerment a woman gives herself when she initiates.

Here is my logic: I never have to sit around waiting for a man to notice me. I am not trapped in an endless loop of self-doubt on how I look and behave to attract him. I am not compelled to play down my interest or my intelligence or my achievements. And most of all, I don’t have to play the passive role of being an audience. I get to be the performer, the leader and this I love.

Though this logic did not earn me his liking or his love but I am quite sure of the fact, that he doesn’t deserve me. “If a man can’t stand by the one he loves, he ain’t a man!”